Fortuitous Travel

Yes, Virginia, there is a mayor.

2007-01-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

Virginia Berkman, 82, is Chris' mother and my new housemate. She's great. Anytime the conversation lulls, just ask her about The Depression and settle in for some stories.

From 1960 to '64, she was a fieldwork supervisor at the U.C. Berkeley Department of Social Welfare. Her best student was the young and charismatic Mr. Ronald Dellums. Virginia has followed his subsequent career, including twenty-six years in U.S. Congress, with interest and affection.

On January 8th, Ron Dellums was to be inaugurated as the new Mayor of Oakland. Virginia decided to make an appearance and I volunteered to escort her.

The ceremony began with open meetings of the Oakland School Board and City Council. I expected to be bored, but was instead captivated by drama and controversy. The eight-member City Council was to vote on the Council Presidency, and many members of the audience made passionate speeches urging current President De La Fuente to step down. Instead he won again by a vote of 5 to 3, provoking so much cat-calling and outright booing from the audience that Mayor Elect Dellums came down to the podium and asked for civility and respect for the democratic process. It was better than the West Wing.

Eventually, Mayor Dellums was inaugurated and gave a strong, inspiring speech.

Then it was time for the reception line. Would the Mayor remember his fieldwork supervisor from forty years prior?

Apparently so.

There was some interest on the part of the media.

A most enjoyable day.

New Year's Eve

2006-12-31T23:58:00.000-08:00

Back with the Bay Area gang!

Chris and Maria celebrate the New Year.

I look on, concerned.

To new beginnings. Happy 2007!

Christmas Eve, Roppongi.

2006-12-24T23:57:00.000-08:00

Goodbye Tokyo. Goodbye Japan.

Goodbye Mochy and Michiko and Yuriko and Poem and Py and Ruko and Mishy and Moe and everyone else I was fortunate enough to meet.

Thanks for everything. I had a blast.

Chris in Japan!

2006-11-08T03:41:00.000-08:00

I let her out occasionally to do some sightseeing.

Tokyo skyline from Mori tower.

The Great Pumpkin hovers over the city.

We take a five-day trip South, passing through Kyoto on the way to Beppu. Here's Kinkaku-ji, (The Golden Temple) in Kyoto.

Chris finds a place to pick up some English men.

Don' let the MDMA shadow-monster get you.

In Beppu we stay in a resort known for it's extensive onsen (hot springs). Chris in the resort Yukata:

Back sightseeing in Tokyo:

Calmly Surrounded

2006-11-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

I know this is worse than fish in a barrel, but the sign below is now my favorite in all of Tokyo.

Paul Simon goes to a love hotel . . .

2006-10-29T19:29:00.000-08:00

. . . in Shinjuku, Tokyo. He sees this sponge . . .

. . . and his head explodes.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

2006-10-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

Local cuisine offers sustenance for the final ascent.

Orange gateway to temple on a steep hill.

Washing hands before entering.

School kids on a field trip.

Most temples will have someone on duty to inscribe temple books with calligraphy. A visitor can buy a book at one temple and then have it filled with inscriptions from each temple he visits.

Insensitive tourist tries to pick up local girls.

Ginkakuji Temple

2006-10-16T06:35:00.000-07:00

The next day, Paul and I hit some more temples on our own. First, we pick up supplies.

Ginkakuji was more my style again. Zen gardens and amazing landscaping.

Very Important Moss.

Your narrator.

Paul contemplates nature.

A block away, we return to "real life."

Ninnaji Temple

2006-10-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

Five minutes down the road from the Ryoanji Temple lies the Ninnaji. Bigger, and with a generally different aesthetic. I didn't love the pagoda here, but Paul did which made me happy.

Ryoanji Temple

2006-10-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

After three weeks of gradual disillusionment with Tokyo, I finally got myself onto the Shinkansen and visited Kyoto with my friend, Paul Weaver.

Would I find the "real" Japan in the city regarded as its spiritual home?

We were met by the delightful Michy, one of the top backgammon players in Japan. He suggested visiting the Ryoanji Temple, which was fortuitous as I had my eye on that one from the guidebooks.

We approached the temple through a breath-taking landscape.

The pond was filled with giant carp and strange lilies. At the temple we removed our shoes (of course), and entered the rock garden.

It turns out this was not just a zen rock garden, but one of the first ever zen rock gardens, highly influential to the development of the art. It's hard for me to describe how perfect it was. (Perhaps I need to describe three weeks of bustling pseudo-New York in Tokyo.) The garden hit me in precisely the way it had been designed to do, some six-hundred years ago. It was pre-conscious. I smiled and was at peace.

It reminded me of a time ten years ago, when I was wandering through the Art Institute of Chicago after gorging myself on Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. I entered a room and saw a painting of a forest with a glowing red sun . . . only the sun was in front of the trees. I was grinning like a madman before I knew what hit me, before I even truly parsed the image. I walked over and of course it was a Magritte which I had somehow never seen before.

This rock garden was my first blissful aesthetic experience in Japan. Nothing could distract me. Not the crowds, nor Paul's semi-serious joking around that he didn't "get" it.

On our way out, we passed through the calming and exotic landscape again, and while thinking about how all this would look in Winter, I saw this . . . (Be sure to click on the image -- any image, in fact -- for a larger view)

. . . and thought to myself, "Of course this is where Haiku were born."

Day Tripper

2006-10-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

Ruko and Py take me and Sam and Paul for an outing to Odawara Castle.

Everyone's happy to get out of Tokyo.

The castle is impressive on the outside. But the inside was gutted and rebuilt in '60s-modern. Ugh.

Photo Ops at the local museum.

Sam and I contemplate the ocean.

(Thanks for the photos, Py!)

A Trip to Tokyo Tower

2006-10-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

An illustration of the different aesthetic at work in Tokyo. They built a model Eiffel Tower . . . slightly larger than the original. Sounds nice. Who doesn't like big things?

Here's the base of the original, just to refresh your memory. (Hi Saryn!)

And here's the base of Tokyo Tower.

Why yes, that is a giant tube extending through the center, and yes indeed, that is an uneven rectangular building sitting below. That's where you find the MacDonald's. Or school kids on a field trip.

The Tokyo skyline. This extends forever in all directions.

Installing a glass bottom was pretty cool, I must admit.

Asakusa with Mochy and Yuriko

2006-09-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

We met at noon outside the famous Almond Cafe in Roppongi. They took me to a noodle bar for lunch (where they explained that it is not considered impolite to slurp when eating noodles). We talked a little about cultural differences (they had both been to Las Vegas and Monte Carlo for backgammon). What did they find most surprising about the US? No hesitation -- that people are so fat. I laughed and agreed, but did suggest that Vegas might not be fully representative. It is, after all, a playground for people with no self-control. This made them laugh. I asked if they ever thought about weight or diet or exercise for themselves and they looked confused and said no (both are abnormally, alarmingly thin). They just stay thin. Mochy described going to a MacDonald's in Vegas, and thinking he had received the wrong order because there was so much food on his plate. Apparently the McPortions in Tokyo are about 1/3 of those in the states.

Then we took the subway to a park. At the subway exit was an indoor rock-formation sculpture that erupts with steaming water every hour.

I explained that just a few weeks ago I had taken photos of Geysir in Iceland.

We went to a park which was "very traditional and old Japanese", but was not so impressive to my untrained eyes. In the middle, however, was a "very traditional and old Japanese tea-house" where we took off our shoes and sat uncomfortably on tatami mats and drank green tea. It was fun and interesting. (And uncomfortable.) Mochy noticed an older woman who was sitting perfectly and who turned her tea-bowl around three times in her hands before drinking. He said she had perfect form and must have been taught by her mother or grandmother.

Then we took a water-taxi, which is always nice, to go see Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa. I asked several times if this was a working temple which people actually attend, or more of a tourist attraction. A working temple, they said, but seemed confused and I wasn't sure we understood each other.

The temple had a long marketplace in front, very reminiscent of the place in Krakow, Poland where we bought sweaters and rugs.

Then we got to the temple and it was big and interesting. One large building and several small ones around a city block or so. Looking very much like what you'd expect from a martial-arts movie. First, there was the famous giant paper lantern.

Big cauldrons of incense outside the buildings. People would come up and wave the smoke in their faces. What was that about, I asked? Healing forces. You wave the smoke onto the body part that needs help. If nothing is particularly broken, you wave it onto your head. Many people were doing this.

So I asked if either of them were particularly religious or had any mystical beliefs. They laughed. Yuriko said no, she had no religion, then laughed more and looked embarrassed. I asked why, and she said that must sound strange to me, because everyone in the US is so religious. Sigh. So we talked about that.

Then we went into the main temple and encountered what I would call a giant wishing well. People would throw change into the water and then pray. So imagine my surprise considering our very last conversation when Mochy and Yuriko both threw change into the water and bowed heads and prayed in silence for nearly a minute. Ok, this is interesting, I thought. So a few minutes later I asked. Well, they said, yes it might seem odd. Mochy said he does not pray to "God". Bu his grandfather died recently and he likes to pray for his well-being. He knows he is dead and gone, but he likes to pray for him. I nodded. I should explore this further at some point.

Then we came to a big table with many boxes, like an old fashioned card catalogue in a library, and with wood spools resting on the table. First I had to pay 100 yen (a little less than a dollar.) I was instructed to pick up a spool and shake it, then turn it upside down and let a stick fall out of a small hole. I thought I could keep the stick but no, they just read the number off the sick and returned it to the spool. Then they found the box with the number from the stick. We opened the box and pulled out a piece of paper with much text on it (an English translation on the back). Aha -- it was a horoscope. Or, more accurately, a pay-per-read I Ching. It turns out the fortune I picked was a very, very, good one, and I should be happy and save it. Ok. Then they did the same, but theirs were not as good. Later we came to a stand with wires stretched across it, and many small papers tied to the wired. Mochy and Yuriko took their fortunes and rolled them up and tied them to a wire. I was doing the same when they started laughing and told me no, mine was a good fortune so I should keep it.

A very fun trip, and nice to see something different from the bustle of modern Tokyo.

Tokyo Backgammon

2006-09-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

Cafe Michelangelo, Daikanyama.

Sake and sashimi after play. Notice the monster on Sam's head.

Settling in

2006-09-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

The view from my apartment in Roppongi Hills.

In case of emergency:

I saw a spider in my courtyard.

Shopping for circuits in Akihabara.

French maids hand out flyers. Is this a great town or what?

If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes

2006-09-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Tokyo to a light rain. Too many lights; a mishmash of incongruous technologies and cultures.

In short -- it all looks exactly like Blade Runner.

Burning Man

2006-09-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

Ellen and I load Ben's van. This, after running out of gas while bringing the van over to Chris's. Which led to driving around Oakland at 4am trying to buy gas. While lead to getting hit-and-run rear-ended by someone who never put down his cell phone, even while speeding away. (Chris's Subaru was totaled.)

Ellen and I get to Vallejo where the van breaks down. Get towed back to Oakland. Rent a new van. Load it.

Rest time on the playa.

Our camp.

Chris arrives.

Saryn takes Azure for a spin.

Your narrator.

(After seven weeks of photo-taking in Europe, I was somehow not in the mood to chronicle Black Rock City, so most of these shots come from friends (Thanks, Scott!). If you have any BM06 photos of our gang that you would like to see up here, send them in. Thanks!)

On the road with Saryn.

2006-08-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

I introduce Saryn to the Beatles.

How Saryn sees the world.

Work shall set you free

2006-08-05T23:34:00.000-07:00

When in Krakow, you go to see Auschwitz.

And there it is, just past a small sleepy town in the hills. As we drove up in our lumbering camper van, passing and being passed by much bigger tour vans, I kept thinking about horror movies where the old house is haunted because it was built on Indian burial grounds. So who would live next door to Auschwitz?

I think about what I know of the war and how I know it, and I realize that my strongest impressions come from literary narratives; Anne Frank and Maus. And that on this trip I've been to the locale of both those stories. In each case, what's most shocking is what's just outside the frame. This is the Anne Frank house? On the middle of this lovely street? In this beautiful city? You mean the war happened here?

(From Maus)

Birkenau, the site of even greater slaughter, is nearby.

I felt powerless to have an Authentic Emotional Response to the camps. Was I supposed to discover new feelings of horror and anger?

When it was time to leave, however, I remember being glad that the gates were open.

Krakow

2006-08-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

On a whim, we head into Poland.

They say that Krakow is the new Prague, a patently offensive reductionist cliche which mostly rings true. Wonderfully preserved (i.e. not bombed to rubble), interesting architecture, favorable exchange rate, and not yet swarming with tourists.

Click on the picture to see the kids playing inside the art.

Go Saryn!

Inside the castle.

Go Saryn!

And on to Praha

2006-08-01T01:22:00.000-07:00

Excitement builds on the trolley into town.

The architecture is spectacular.

The Castle.

Out of nowhere, we come across an outdoor exhibit of birds of prey.

Snoozing on Charles Bridge

Sraromestske Namesti (Old Town Square) at night.

I don't know that the pictures do it justice. Prague is not to be missed.

Letter from Monte Carlo

2006-07-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

Hello, and belated thank-you's to all who wished me well after an amazing week (in the middle of an amazing trip)!

Some highlights that didn't make it into the standard tournament results reporting:

By chance, the film crew doing the four-hour television and dvd documentary on the 2006 Monte Carlo World Championships happened to be set up near my assigned table for the first round of the main. By chance, my first round match went to Double Match Point for maximum drama. They started filming the final game. By chance, it was a game with amazing turnarounds (I was in a well timed ace-point game, hit his 13th checker, closed out his 13-15th checkers, got hit in my bearoff, and finally won a scramble with a well-timed set of doubles). The crew went wild "That's exactly the kind of drama we need for our video!" and asked for an extended follow-up interview.

So we did that, and they really liked the result. Then they asked if I could do some sort of backgammon lessons directly toward the camera, which they could use throughout the four hours. Sure, I said, and went home that night to come up with a few illustrative positions of various degrees of complexity, and some patter to go with them. The next morning we filmed me in their studio . . . and again, they loved the result. I said, "Look, I understand a little about show business and how nothing is ever guaranteed. Even if you don't end up using this material, I'd really like to get a copy of it just for myself." They started laughing . . . "Trust us, we will use it."

Then they started covering all my matches (I was one of their "horses" that they had interviewed early on, so they wanted me to go far in the tournament. Kind of fun to have a full crew rooting for you. Alas, I lost (again at DMP) in the third round. But I kept winning in the Super.

By the middle of the week they approached me again . . . and asked if would be willing to do the voice over narration for the whole video. Of course they would fly me out to Stockholm and put me up in a hotel . . . and pay me. And why yes, of course they would fly out my girlfriend and her daughter as well. So. Although I still caution myself not to believe anything in show-biz before the check is cashed, we have now changed our return flights such that the production company can have us for an extra week in Europe, and are flying us to Stockholm. Fun. (This means I will return back to the states some five days before leaving for Burning Man.)

Then came the day of the finals in the main event (I'm already knocked out of the main, but am in the semis of the Super and trying to find my opponent). As soon as we arrive in the playing area, we hear the scuttlebut that Paul Magriel has vanished and will not be doing the play-by-play commentary on the finals that he signed up for. The directors are looking for someone to replace him. Hmmm. Trying to be as self-effacing and non-pushy as possible while suggesting myself for the job, I suggested myself for the job. The camera crew went wild "That would be an AMAZING tie-in to your voice over!" and they suggested it to the directors, who it turned out were happy to find someone. So . . . it turned out that Falafel (a famed and quirky player) and I both did live commentary in front of a crowd of a few hundred . . . and it was great fun and by all reports a success. Our speaking and thinking styles are different enough that we had some nice contrast, and lots of good humor.

In the middle of the match, my semi-final opponent was ready, so I excused myself and played what tuned out to be a very fast paced match. When I returned, I successfully restrained myself from saying "I'm back, and ten-thousand dollars richer." (And of course I wasn't really 10k richer, because I only had a quarter of my own action in the Super -- I had backers who paid the $1500 entry fee in exchange for 75% of my winnings.)

So the Finals ended, there was a new World Champion, there was a nice party where I had exactly 1/2 a glass of champaign, and then I played the finals of the Super where I rolled over my opponent 13-4. The prize money was 40k, of which I took home 10k, which meant for the first time I could actually afford to be on this trip.

Add to that three separate nights of after-hours nude-swimming on the beach (with friendly drunken Norwegians, with my girlfriend, with friendly drunken Norwegians *and* my girlfriend) and you begin to understand that this was a special week.

The rest of the trip has been grand as well -- great times with friends in Paris and Zurich. (We go to see the World Cup finals from a bistro in Paris -- the streets were packed.) Crazy adventures in Amsterdam. Fun driving in the Camper Van. All in all, an amazing trip.

More to come,

Jeremy

Monte Carlo

2006-07-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Playing room at the World Backgammon Championships.

The locale.

Black leads 9-5 to 17, and doubles to 2. Can I take?

I recube to 4!

He takes! How do I play a 53?

The Super Jackpot Finals.

A crowd develops as the end approaches . . .

Victory! Relief!

Hey Saryn! Do you like towers? Big towers . . .?

2006-07-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

Really, really big towers?

Chris tries for a glimpse of the World Cup finals.

Ah, Amsterdam.

2006-07-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the city I would most want to move to. The art, the people, the canals, the atmosphere -- Amsterdam is special.

Saryn sees something in the canal, just beyond the Anne Frank house.

Political commentary

Saryn makes a friend in the park

Chris makes a friend in the park.

Off to Europe

2006-07-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

On July 1, Ken, Chris, Saryn, and I embarked on a six-week trip to Reykjavik, Amsterdam, Paris, Monte Carlo, Zurich, Salzburg, Vienna, Brno, Prague, Krakow, Auschwitz, Berlin, and Amsterdam (again). Along the way, we earned enough points to access the bonus level of a free week in Stockholm.

Saryn on her first-ever flight. Chris was unable to keep her awake for the take-off.

The Blue Lagoon: The effluent of a geo-thermal power-plant in Iceland.

In front of Geysir. The first Geysir, from which all other geysers are named. Note that this photo was taken at 2:42 am.

Saryn versus the troll.

Gullfoss waterfall, 3:30 am.

Portland, OR

2006-06-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

Shortly after buying a new digital camera, Chris and I head out to Portland for my Mom's 70th birthday party. I arrive wearing the purple leopard-bear(?) suit that Tara had made for me a year before, and that Marilyn had recently enhanced and completed. (Thanks Tara! Thanks Marilyn!)

The suit turned out to be a hit, especially once Mom put on the headpiece. She kept it on for the whole of the party, and let more pictures be taken of her that night than in her previous forty years.

Dad and uncle are taken by surprise.

Bear replicates Mentos trick.